dropping."

They were halfway to the village when a dozen tractors came racing up
and Jake piled out of the lead one to drag the two in with him.

"Heard about it from the broadcasts and figured you might land around
here. Good to see you, Doc." He started the tractor off at full speed,
back to the wastelands, while Doc stared at the armed men who were
riding the tractors.

Jake caught his look and nodded. "You're in enemy territory, Doc.
There's a war going on!"

XII

War

Sometimes it seemed to Doc that war was nothing but an endurance race to
see how many times they could run before they were bombed. He was just
beginning to drop off to sleep after a long trip for the sixth
consecutive day when the little alarm shrilled. He sighed and shook
Chris awake.

"Again?" she protested. But she got up and began helping him pack.

Jake came in, his eyes weary, pulling on the old jacket with the big
star on its sleeve. Doc hadn't been too surprised to learn that Jake was
the actual leader of the rebels. "Shuttles spotted taking off this way.
And I still can't find where the leak is. They haven't missed our
location once this week. Here, give me that."

He took the electron mike that had been among Doc's' possessions, but
Chris recaptured it. "I can manage," she told him, and headed out for
the tractor where Lou was waiting.

Doc scowled after her. He and Jake had been watching her. She was too
useful to Doc's research to be turned away, but they didn't trust her
yet. So far, however, they had found nothing wrong with her conduct.
Still....

He swung suddenly into Jake's tractor. "Just remembered something. How'd
they find me that time I stopped in the tractor to use the mike? I was
pretty well hidden, and no tracks last in the sand long enough for them
to have followed. But they were there when I came to. Somehow, they must
have put a radio tracer on me."

Jake waited while they lighted up, his eyes suddenly bright. "You mean
something you got from her house was bugged? It figures."

"And I've still got all the stuff. Now they find wherever we set up
headquarters, though they've always managed to miss my laboratory, even
when they've hit the troops around us. Jake, I think it's the
microscope." Doc managed to push enough junk off one of the seats to
make a cramped bed, and stretched out. "Sure, we figured they sent her
because they want to keep tabs on what I discover. They've finally
gotten scared of